This invention relates generally to music equipment and musical instruments and relates more particularly to bridges cooperating with a string tension releasing mechanism, including bridges on sounding boards, inverted bridges, bridges with string clamps or string holders, guitar bridges, and guitar bridges with tailpieces.
In a typical useful configuration, stringed musical instruments comprise a body, a neck, a head and a plurality of tuned strings. A standard neck is flat and is comprised of one or more types of wood, such as maple or rosewood. The head is attached to a first end of the neck and comprises one or more tuning pegs that hold the ends of the strings and accommodate the tuning thereof. The body is attached to an opposite end of the neck and comprises a bridge that is securely fastened to its upper face. The bridge secures the opposite ends of the strings to the body of the instrument. The strings are then tuned with the tuning pegs to resonate particular acoustic frequencies upon being plucked, strummed or otherwise disturbed.
Tuned strings create a tensile force across the neck. e.g. between the head and the body. Over time, this constant force may cause the neck of the instrument to bow or warp. When this happens the neck of the instrument is no longer flat. This condition adversely affects the tuning and intonation of the instrument over time. Additionally, the instrument becomes more difficult to play because the distance between the strings and the outer face of the neck typically becomes non-uniform with respect to the instrument""s original structural and ornamental design. To correct this problem, the neck of the instrument must either be straightened or replaced. Either of these repairs are costly and must be performed as often as once a year.
It is possible to avoid damage to the neck by de-tuning the strings after each use of the instrument. However, stringed musical instruments may comprise or cooperate with as many as twelve strings. Hence, re-tuning each string before each use of an instrument can be very tedious. Because of this, many musicians choose not to de-tune the strings on their instruments after each use, thus allowing the progression of neck warping.
In order to avoid costly repairs and maintenance, it is desirable to introduce a device for a stringed musical instrument which prevents warping of the neck while allowing the strings to stay substantially tuned. It is further desirable that such device does not affect the quality of sound produced by the instrument due to its use. It is further desirable to make such a device mountable on pre-existing models of stringed instruments as well as on future models which may or may not contemplate the use of the device, so that all stringed instruments may be so equipped.
In order to address the problems of the prior art, a bridge system of the present invention is introduced which may be mountable on a stringed musical instrument having a body and a neck. The bridge system includes a bridge having a first end and a second end and a hinge operatively connected to the first end.
According to a further embodiment, a bridge system of the present invention may be mountable on a stringed musical instrument having a neck and a body. The bridge system includes a bridge having a first end and a second, wherein the first end is disposed closer to a neck than the second end. The bridge system further includes a holder for securing a plurality of strings and a guide for attaching the bridge to at least one rail.
According to a still further embodiment of the present invention a bridge system which may be mounted on a musical instrument having a body and a neck includes an end operatively connected to at least one spring mountable on the body. The at least one spring is positioned between the bridge and the body.
In certain embodiments it is contemplated that, in accordance with the instant invention a bridge of, for example, a stringed musical instrument may preferably be equipped to hold the ends of one or more strings of said instrument. The bridge may be releasably mounted to the body of the musical instrument such that when a release mechanism is activated, the tension of the strings may be reduced or eliminated. The bridge may not completely detach from the body of the instrument, but rather, may be repositioned so that the distance between the top and bottom of the one or more strings as measured along the body of the instrument may be decreased. The bridge may be returned to its original position by manual depression when desired such that the one or more strings may be substantially returned to their original tuning. In certain embodiments it is contemplated that, in accordance with the instant invention, while a bridge is in its released position, there may be little or no tensile force between the top of the neck and the body. In this manner, the progression of neck warping due to the tensile force is greatly reduced.
It is, therefore, an advantage of certain embodiments of the instant invention that a bridge for a musical instrument is provided which allows for the release at least one string""s tension between the neck and the body of a stringed musical instrument so as to reduce damage to the neck of the instrument over time.
It is a further advantage of certain embodiments of the instant invention that a bridge can manually be returned to its original position after release so that the at least one string""s tension between the neck and body is substantially restored.
It is a still further advantage a bridge of the present invention may be incorporated into any model of previously existing stringed musical instruments.